Conquer Club

The Great Gatsby? Kind of an arrogant title.

Of all the books that were required reading when I was in school, the Great Gatsby was the only one I never finished. I was always a compulsive reader, so to not finish a book was pretty rare for me.

In fairness, though, my not finishing the book probably had more to do with the massive river of alcohol that I was being subjected to that year than with any negative qualities of the book, so I've gone middle-of-the-road and rated it "Ok" since I honestly don't remember anything about it.

Great. Loved it.

Although I'm not sure about how good the film adaptation is going to be because Fitzgerald's amazing writing-style will be lost.

Army of GOD wrote:Although I'm not sure about how good the film adaptation is going to be because Fitzgerald's amazing writing-style will be lost.

I thought they already made a movie about it? I personally felt the book was a good read

Crazyirishman wrote:

Army of GOD wrote:Although I'm not sure about how good the film adaptation is going to be because Fitzgerald's amazing writing-style will be lost.

I thought they already made a movie about it? I personally felt the book was a good read

yea, forgot about that. I never watched it though.

My vote is the ok. Great writing, really great writing. Plot was kind of boring, and characters were kinda forgettable.

Symmetry wrote:My vote is the ok. Great writing, really great writing. Plot was kind of boring, and characters were kinda forgettable.

I thought the plot and theme weren't as powerful as my other favorites (Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, The Stranger), but I thought it was still pretty strong. Probably would've meant more if we read it soon after it came out.

More than in the plot, the great of the book is in its prose style.

robert redford as gatsby in the first time they made that book into a movie: hotness, no homo (is that a flame?)

book, i've read it 3 times, all for school (which is dumb). it's pretty good. i like the premise of the story, and the writing is indeed of high quality, but some of the characters really make you scratch your head

the upcoming movie, i think, will be more impressive than the first. it's gonna be amazin'

Definitely one of the better story arcs in Entourage. Not sure how well they'll do spinning it off into a film, but then again, look at Cheers and Frasier.

'characters were kinda forgettable'

I think that was kind of the point. People like the Buchanans are (to the outsider) living the consumerist dream but it's all just a facade. The people are still bland and unoriginal underneath it all (in the same way as Gatsby's persona is all just an illusion).

I love the book.

I read it in high school and did not like it.

That being said, I suspect there are novels I read in middle school and high school that I should read again with a new (older) perspective.

huamulan wrote:'characters were kinda forgettable'

I think that was kind of the point. People like the Buchanans are (to the outsider) living the consumerist dream but it's all just a facade. The people are still bland and unoriginal underneath it all (in the same way as Gatsby's persona is all just an illusion).

I love the book.

I'd agree with that- it's a book that owes a lot to symbolism, and I think that's the way most people read it. The characters are more symbols or representatives of ideas. I can see that that's what the book is doing, and it does it pretty well, but acknowledging that doesn't really mean that I like the way its done.

That's why I love the prose so much.

Urrghghguuhg. That's about the only book I couldn't stand reading in High School. I'm not sure what it was, but making myself read it for class was just an uphill battle at every page turn.

edit: Actually, I think it was the writing and the time that the novel took place. I'm really not a fan of the early 1900's in America.

-rd

Symmetry wrote:The Great Gatsby? Kind of an arrogant title.

One of my favourite books of all time. I saw the movie trailer the other day though and wasn't sure what to think, didn't really fit to the theme with the Kanye/Jay-Z soundtrack that was apparently being employed.

It is suppose to be an arrogant title for the book. Roaring 20's, bootleggers party, inherited money. Lots of symbols alluding to money.

I'd rate it a solid 'good'.

Isn't 'great' just how other people see Gatsby (including the protagonist, when he first meets him)?